Britain must think like a hot country and install air conditioning in all care homes and hospitals within the next decade, the government's climate advisers have warned. The Climate Change Committee (CCC) published a landmark report on Wednesday calling for urgent adaptations to survive global heating, noting that the UK was 'built for a climate that no longer exists'.
The report recommends that air conditioning be installed in all care homes and hospitals within 10 years, and in all schools within 25 years. It also urges the government to set a maximum temperature for working, both indoors and outdoors. The UK should prepare for 2C of global heating by 2050, as attempts to limit warming to 1.5C under the Paris agreement appear likely to fail.
Heatwaves are expected to exceed 40C in all parts of the UK by 2050, potentially causing an additional 10,000 heat-related deaths per year. About nine in 10 UK homes are likely to overheat. In 2022, when temperatures rose above 40C, there were about 3,000 excess deaths. The CCC's adaptation subcommittee chair, Julia King, said extreme heat posed the most immediate risk to life and that cooling must be rolled out at scale.
While air conditioning is energy-intensive, accounting for about 4% of global greenhouse gas emissions, more efficient systems using heat pumps are available. Sam Alvis of the IPPR thinktank called for more solar panels on roofs alongside air conditioning, noting that the UK must get used to being a hot country. Emma Howard Boyd of the London School of Economics said heat resilience must be treated as a priority alongside flood preparedness and water security.
The climate crisis is costing the UK about £60bn per year, or 2% of GDP, including flood damages and crop losses. The report warns that 7m properties at risk of flooding could increase by 40% by 2050, and river peak flows could be 45% higher. Sea levels could rise by 20-45cm, and heavy rainfall intensity could increase by 60%. Natural flood defences will not be enough, and more concrete barriers will be needed.
Droughts will also become more frequent, with river flows likely a third lower in summer than 20 years ago. By 2050, the water supply shortfall could reach 5bn litres per day. More reservoirs must be built to avoid taps running dry. By 2100, summers as dry as 2018 and 1976 would become the norm, and wildfire risk days could double by 2050.
